Thoughts on chances for UConn Special Prog in Med (BS/MD) or Stamps?
US - OOS
Public high school (Top 3% of class of 325+)
4.0UW / 4.73W
1470 SAT (750 English / 720 Math)
Natl Merit semifinalist
5 APs complete (5s in Bio, Calc AB, US Hist and 4s in World History and CS Principles)
Taking 3 add’l APs (incl Calc BC and Chem)
Taking/completed 10 honors + 6 DE classes
Good ECs (student gov’t, started a club, NHS, misc community service)
Several yrs performing arts
Limited shadowing in med field
The website info on their BS/MD program does say “no state residency requirements, although Connecticut residents will receive special consideration” - so sounds like it is still the case. The program sounds great - but if my child isn’t even in the ballpark of a competitive applicant, the time to write the additional essays and gather specific LoRs could be better spent elsewhere.
What will be in the BS/MD application that suggests your son knows what being a physician is all about? That’s the question that will be front and center for the Adcom’s.
The large majority of students who start their freshman year of university thinking “premed” end up doing something else. Some find premed classes to be too tough. However a large number, including some who do very well in premed classes, just decide that they would prefer to do something else.
I might make an analogy to a only slightly different field. One daughter was applying to DVM programs a few years back. Her GPA and test scores were “good enough” for schools to be confident that she could handle the academic load. Your child’s high school stats similarly make the point that academically he should be able to handle the load. However, what my daughter and I both think actually got her admitted to multiple DVM programs was the related experience that she had and the resulting letters of reference. This strongly made the point that she was going to stick with it. Does your child’s experience in medical environments similarly make the point that he is going to stick with it?
If not, then the alternate approach of getting a bachelor’s degree, getting more medical experience, and then applying to MD or DO programs is still available and quite sensible (and would be available even to someone who graduates high school with no medical experience).
Yes that’s definitely a fair consideration when comparing candidates. And I’ve definitely known 10x as many pre-med students as actual physicians.
If my child decides to give it a shot, it’s helpful to have this focus. There are a few other things on the resume that aren’t shadowing but are medical or med-adjacent, so it’s helpful to have an eye toward highlighting those activities.